The Breck Epic
Stage 3-Pennsylvania Gulch
Cory Wallace / 08.07.2009
After yesterdays stage in which numerous plumes of smoke were spotted out along the course as riders blew up like bags of potato chips the pace was a little more relaxed at the start as we were police escorted out of town. Once out into the mountain singletrack it was Bishop (Monavie-Cannondale) and Brown (Trek) taking control with a long scattered chain of riders filing in behind them as the course wound along hillsides and dipped through gulches.
At only 28 miles, the stage was more like a typical xc race with the pace soon getting pretty fast as the riders tore through the smooth flowy singletrack and climbed up to a highpoint of 11,500 ft on the day. With 3 fully stocked aid stations on course, riders were able to go light and hard without worrying about running out of water or food and as a result the finishing times were very fast with Bishop taking his 3rd consecutive stage in a time of 2;08;15, just 5 seconds ahead of Brown. Brandon Dwight (Scott USA) rounded out the top 3 coming in 3:45 behind the leaders.
After the race I had a chance to talk to Brandon who is a very accomplished marathon cyclist residing in Boulder, Colorado. He was pretty stoked on being able to show off some of his State's great singletrack and it won't be suprising if he's seen pushing the killer B's to the limit in the coming stages.
Unlike some races on which riders spirits are tested to the limits, riders were coming across the line today wishing for more as everyone had big singletrack smiles across their faces and 2.5hrs didn't seem like quite enough for some to get there fill. We are told the coming stages are going to be a little more inhumane so it will be interesting to see what riders have to say at the end of the week.
After the race I had a chance to catch up to the race leader himself, Jeremiah Bishop who replied "Awesome!" when I asked how his day was. Bishop has taken the first 3 stages of the race but Travis Brown is hot on his tail. When asked to replay the winning move Bishop stated, "Brown was riding hard today and we were together until the final climb 20 minutes from the finish when I punched it a bit and came over the top 30 seconds ahead. Heading into the finish I took it a little easier on the long descent to avoid crashing or a mechanical and when I crossed over the line I looked back and Brown was right there!"
Apparantly Brown rolled the dice a little and opened it up on the descent narrowly missing Bishop at the line. In the coming stages it will be great to watch these two battle it out as it seems Bishop may have the slight advantage on the climbs but that Brown's technical skills are keeping it ever so close.
After today's quick stage riders had plenty of time to cruise the pimped up streets of Breckenridge to check out the numerous upper class restaurants and coffee shops. The towns population is only around 3000 people but with Denver just 1.5hrs away the town is built up like a world class ski resort with huge condos across the valley which makes for a great venue for a big race.
Riders are already talking about tommorow's stage as the race will circumnavigate one of the nearby mountains in what is described as a real backcountry ride.See All Event Posts
